Dear You
by JoannaBanana91
Summary: Hanna decides to write a letter to an old enemy a couple of days before her wedding...Or is it an old friend?


**A/N: I literally finished my fanfic after eight long months and now I'm writing this? But hey, what can I say? I find this ship to be very inspiring given that it's so unpopular and full of ridiculously untapped potential. Anyway, enjoy…**

* * *

 _Dear You,_

 _So I'm getting married in two days. Caleb and I are getting married, and I am happy about it...mostly. I'm mostly sure that he is the one for me...No scratch that, he_ _ **is**_ _the one for me. Jordan was just a distraction-something to pass the time. I can't even remember when we got engaged because it all happened so fast. Everything in my life happens too fast...And I…_

 _I..._

 _I hate you._

 _There I said it._

 _ **I hate you.**_

 _And I hate myself for feeling this way. Especially when I know that Caleb loves me and would never dare dream of leaving me again. Not the way you did all those years ago. If Ali hadn't of called us over for Charlotte's hearing, I probably never would have seen him again. And who knows? Jordan and I might have been married by now and living in some damn apartment complex close to Broadway. And then I would have divorced him immediately afterwards._

 _Why?_

 _Because he reminded me of you. Jordan has_ _ **always**_ _reminded me of_ _ **you**_ _. Maybe that's why I was so drawn to him the night that I met him in that bar in New York. A bar that, fittingly enough, was recently torn down. Isn't that just like us though? We were friends once, and then it was all over before it even began. Hell, maybe our friendship was never even real at all. I stupidly hoped that you were different, but you proved me wrong by being like what Caleb refers to as "Rosewood's finest"- Wilden, Garrett, to name a few._

 _Oh god...This stupid letter is getting tear stains on it. Why the hell am I crying over you? I don't care about you. And it's pretty obvious that you never really gave a damn about me either. You were probably just getting close to me because you took an interest in Ali's case. Probably hoping that the closer you got to me, the more info you could get for Tanner. Funnily enough, it was only after Ali came back to town that you started avoiding me. And yes, I am aware that I never really made an effort to see you either. I know that. But since Caleb came back - he always comes back, unlike you - there was no need to see you again. No need to hang out with you and…beg you to spoil the twist in that dumb book you tried to get me to read. For all I know, you were probably too busy pretending to be Ali's friend when she came back into town to even remember me._

 _Oh. I almost forgot. Caleb has a security job over at The Radley. Did you hear? It's a hotel now. You would never know that it's the same place that you practically cornered Aria and tried to get Spencer arrested. God. What is it with you damn cops? Always trying to pin the blame on someone other than yourself. Maybe if you had taken responsibility for your behavior after Ali came back...If you had found some way to visit me in jail, then maybe...maybe..._

 _Whatever._

 _It really doesn't matter anyway, because even if you did come back, I don't think I could ever forgive you for breaking my trust. And besides...Why would I ever want to hang around someone like you again? You, with your impulsiveness, intelligence, kindness...No, not kindness. You were definitely smart, I'll give you that. But kind? No. Fake and manipulative as hell? Damn right. Damn frickin' right._

 _I have been let down by so many people in my life, and I refuse to let you do the same to me. A person like you should be avoided at_ _ **all costs**_ _…like the plague._

…

…

 _So I think it's safe to say that I absolutely loathe you._

 _ **I, Hanna Marin, loathe you, Gabe Holbrook.**_

 _And I don't think that feeling will ever go away._

 _Have an awful life you cruel bastard._

 _Hanna_

Hanna looked over the letter once, and promptly got up from her chair. She walked over to the crackling fireplace and stared into the orange-yellow flames for some time.

She then crumpled up the slightly tear-stained letter and threw it right into the flames.

She watched as the letter slowly blackened, tossing and turning ever so delicately as it did so, until finally, it was nothing more than ash.

"Hanna!"

She turned around to find Caleb in the doorway with a bright smile on his face.

She had never even heard him open the door.

He had takeout in his hands.

"Hey." He noticed her tears and his face softened. "Are you okay?"

There was no way in hell she was going to tell him the truth. She never even told her friends, so why would she tell him?

So she laughed.

"Oh...No." She pointed at her face. "No, Caleb. This isn't what it looks like. I was...Oh god."

She tried to give off an embarrassed expression as best as she could.

"I was re-watching _The Notebook_ , and I guess I kind of got caught up in the movie. Damn that Ryan Gosling," she told him casually with a laugh.

Caleb was relieved.

"Oh!" He chuckled lightly. "Well, I've got your food right here."

He carried the bags over to the table and gently placed them down.

"And I think that's enough romance movies for one night," he joked.

Hanna chuckled at his joke and he turned away from her so he could go into the bathroom.

She heard the sound of him opening up the faucet, and turned her head so she could see him from a crack in the door.

" _He can never the truth_ ," she thought sadly as she watched him wash his hands in the bathroom.

 _"No one can ever know."_

THE END

* * *

 **A/N: Beautifully painful and angsty ship. Especially in show!canon. And I believe Gabe's slightly traitorous behavior is something that Hanna has had to carry on her shoulders for the past five years – as proven by her crushed look when she saw Lorenzo in that suit in 6x14 through the glass at the police station. A suit that was far too similar to Gabe's in 5x18 - no wonder she looked so heartbroken in that scene. I guess fan service is worth it, even if it makes Hanna suffer. And yeah, if this ship miraculously got together, it would be considered "fan service," in some way, but it would also be really good for Hanna, which is really why I ship this couple. I mean, of course I like both characters, that's one of the reasons why I ship them. But from a narrative and character development point-of-view, him coming back would be good for her because then she would stop wondering,** _ **and**_ **have a real chance with a guy who won't regress her character *cough*Caleb*cough* and help build her up into the best version of herself that she can possibly be.**

 **This is a ramble that I should probably post on tumblr, but compare Caleb threatening to leave Hanna if she doesn't go with him in 6x20, to Gabe grabbing Hanna's arms near their cars in 5x18. What does Hanna do with Caleb?** _ **She comes back**_ **. She almost lets her hard work go to waste because Caleb was too selfish to let her be happy with her career. But when Gabe tries to kiss her, what does she do? She hits him, yells at him, and then she leaves. She clearly doesn't have time for all of that nonsense, especially since she** _ **knows**_ **that he can do better. But with Caleb, she just kind of let it slide. I mean if Caleb really loved her, he would want her to be happy. I mean, who cares if she's missed a few birthdays? And it's not like he ever respected her line of work anyway. Hey…maybe I will write a meta on this. Link to my tumblr is on my profile page. I'm not gonna write it right away though, but maybe within the next couple of weeks I will.**


End file.
